The Masked Ball
by Michaela Martin
Summary: A few months after Luke and Lorelai have broken up, the town hosts a Masked Ball. Lorelai is reluctant to attend until she begins to recieve notes from a secret admirer.


**A/N: This is just a fluff peice that came to me while I was at work. It's a short oneshot about Luke and Lorelai getting back together during the upcoming seasons. As it stands in all my stories there is only mention of Christopher. I hate him with an all firey passion. I want to run him over with a great big truck. Enough on the rant on with the story. My apologies to anyone who already had this idea and has run with it. I'm currently in a rut when it comes to my other story "Holes in the Floor of Heaven". It's currently on hiatus until my muse gets to me. **

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_"Coming Soon! The Stars Hollow High Drama Society proudly presents the first ever Masked Ball. Festivities to begin Saturday October 28th at nine o'clock in the square. Prizes for best costume will be awarded. Come one and all!"_

That was the poster that Lorelai saw outside Miss Patty's, roughly three months after she and Luke began their separate lives. Lorelai spent most of it working and spending time with Rory. Rumor had it that Luke had been spending a great deal of his time in Woodbridge. It was hard to say if he was spending that time with April or with Anna. Miss Patty had woefully given the news to Lorelai that Anna had been seen coming out of the diner one morning without April.

Lorelai, of course, had attempted to have a real relationship with Christopher, but like every other time, something came up that got in the way. The Fates knew who they wanted together and they were working double time to put it together. It was then that Luke decided that he would win Lorelai back at the Masked Ball.

He spent a great deal of time at the library writing these mysterious notes that he sent to Lorelai. He wanted to create the illusion that Lorelai had a secret admirer. Knowing that he could not trust anyone with the task of delivering these notes, he took it upon himself to deliver them while he knew she was at the inn and that Babbette would be far away from the house so he wouldn't be spotted.

Lorelai came home that night to find and envelope and a red rose on her porch step. She carefully picked up the note and broke open the wax seal. Pulling the beige note card out she read the following message: _"I'll love thee forever. I'll like thee for always. For as long as I live, mine Lorelai thee shall be. Meet me in the gazebo at 10:30 the night of the ball. Lovingly yours, The Phantom of Stars Hollow." _

Lorelai sat down on the steps of her porch in amazement. No one had ever sent her anything like this before. For all she knew it could just be from Rory, in hopes to lift her mother's spirits. Now, she hadn't planned on attending the Ball, for the simple fact that she didn't wish to attend it alone. It would be just the sort of thing that she would brow beat Luke into going to. Now she had a reason to go, if only to find the out who this Phantom of Stars Hollow was.

She took the next afternoon off from the inn to go to the fabric store to find her perfect costume. She figured that her Phantom would be dressed like a character from The Phantom of the Opera so she had better find a matching gown. Opening the first pattern book she stumbled across the Civil War era dresses. She picked out the simplest pattern. She picked a dark blue satin for the dress and a gold for the accents. She even stopped at costume shop and found a delicate gold mask that would match it perfectly.

Every day when she returned home from work another letter and red rose would be waiting for her. The first three sentences were always the same. _"I'll love thee forever. I'll like thee for always. For as long as I live, mine Lorelai thee shall be." _But there was always something different about each note. The writer of these notes seemed to know her so well that she really began to wonder who this person could be. But there was no time to dwell. She had a dress to finish.

Three days and 36 costume shops later, Luke finally found the right costume. To keep up his ruse as the "Phantom" he needed a costume that would compliment his way of wooing Lorelai. It was a mid 1860's tuxedo. When he purchased it he made sure the owner wrote out the directions for the order that each piece of clothing had to be put on. He completed the costume with a black mask and a cape.

The night of the ball arrived. Lorelai was almost finished putting her hair up when there was a knock on the door. She tied her bathrobe around herself and went downstairs. She opened the door to find Luke standing there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, shocked that he was there.

"Umm, I was doing some cleaning and I found these. I thought you'd want them back," Luke said, handing her a large box. "It just some of your stuff that you had left in my apartment."

"Oh. Well, thank you for bringing it over," Lorelai said. "It was very thoughtful of you. Look, I have to go. I have plans tonight. I have to get ready. I'll see you around Luke."

She closed the door and went into the living room. She knew that if she went through that box, it would only cause her tears and she had just gotten her face the way she wanted it. But curiosity got the better of her. She flipped open the lid of the box and peered into it. CDs, books, even a few articles of clothing that she hadn't known were missing were packed inside. Stuck to the side of the box was an envelope. Part of her did not want to open that envelope but there was that part of her heart that demanded that she do.

Against her better judgment she opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper. She began to read the words that Luke had written to her. They were short and to the point, just like Luke.

_Dear Lorelai, _

_I'm not sure how many times a single person can say 'I'm sorry' before it loses its meaning. I know that I have screwed up so much this year. In hindsight, I should have let you be more involved with April. I should have noticed when you started pulling away from me. I should have done so much more than I did. _

_Please know that I still love you and want to marry you. I have wanted that since our first kiss on the porch of the Dragonfly two years ago. Please whenever you read this, come talk to me. I miss you. I miss your rants about coffee, your anecdotes about Michel and Sookie; I miss knowing what's going on with Rory and whoever she happens to be with now. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I just miss my friend. _

_Love always, _

_Luke _

"Oh my God," whispered Lorelai.

Back at the apartment above the diner Luke began to get dressed for the ball. He was now very thankful that he lived in the 21st century and not the 19th. Jeans and t-shirts were so much more simpler to get into versus this suit he had purchased. By the time that he was ready to go it was nearly 10:15. He adjusted his tie and mask and slunk down the back stairs so the spying eyes of the town would not see him and ruin his surprise.

Lorelai arrived at the ball shortly after ten. She spotted Kirk, who didn't quite get the concept of a "masked" ball. She couldn't help but look for her Phantom. She noticed the time and went over to the gazebo.

"Patty! Who is that in the gazebo?" Babbette asked. "The girl in the blue dress?"

"Haven't you heard?" Patty replied. "Luke has been sending Lorelai mysterious notes signed 'The Phantom of Stars Hollow'. He's going to meet her in the gazebo at 10:30. Just watch."

"How on earth did I miss Luke, delivering secret messages to Lorelai?" Babbette bemoaned. "I'm getting slow."

Over the speakers Reflecting Light was playing. A tear crept into Lorelai's eye when she thought of another time she had heard that song. She and Luke had just had a fight about Jess and some stupid self help book. They had just made up and he had asked her to dance. In the moonlight of Liz and T.J's wedding Luke and Lorelai shared a special dance. Letting the moment wash over her, Lorelai began to dance by herself. She swayed and waltzed in the same fashion that Princess Aurora had in Sleeping Beauty. She twirled around and at once found herself inside the fairy tale. She looked up at a man in an old-fashioned tuxedo, cape and mask.

"Dance with me?" was his simple request.

"I don't even know who you are," Lorelai replied.

"You will soon," the man replied.

He took Lorelai into his arms and they danced. Danced in the moonlight, with Miss Patty and Babbette watching in the distance. They knew who was behind the mask and they loved that it hadn't dawned on Lorelai yet. Babbette wanted to stand up and scream it but Patty stopped her. Lorelai had to figure it out for herself.

The music stopped and a young girl took the stage. The mysterious man took a hold of Lorelai's hand. He whispered into her ear, "For as long as I live, mine Lorelai, thee shall be."

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Gwen and I am the president of the Stars Hollow High School Drama society. I would like to take this moment to thank all of you who have contributed to our first annual Masked Ball. The Drama Society would like to thank Miss Patty LaCosta for her support in all our theatrical productions, Doose's Market for supplying all the food and drinks at a fraction of the retail price and the Dragonfly Inn for allowing us to put on our Murder Mystery this winter. And now the moment we've all been waiting for, the awards for best costumes. Best Costume Ladies, is…" Gwen said opening the envelope. "Christine Daae, as portrayed by Lorelai Gilmore!"

Lorelai let go of the man's hand and walked up to the stage to accept her award. She stayed on stage while Gwen read the name for the next winner. "Best Costume Gentlemen, is…" Gwen said pulling out the card. "The Phantom as portrayed by…name withheld."

The man that Lorelai had just been with came up to the stage. He took the mike from Gwen and began to speak. "Thank you very much for this, but there is something I need to say. This whole thing was a ruse. I paid the Drama Society to put this ball on. It was all a plan so I could do this," the man said, pulling off the mask.

Gasps echoed throughout the square. None was more shocked than Lorelai. The man was Luke Danes. He dropped down to one knee and looked up at Lorelai.

"I love you Lorelai, and I want nothing more than to marry you right here, right now. Marry me in front of all our friends and family."

"I don't know what to say," Lorelai said, trying not to cry. "Rory and my parents and April…"

"Are all here," Luke said. "Look."

One by one, Rory, Richard, Emily and April removed masks and cloaks that were hiding themselves. Lorelai now had tears dripping down her cheeks. Rory smiled up at her mother and nodded.

"Yes. Yes, Luke. I'll marry you."

Rory and April came up to the stage and gave Lorelai a large bouquet of flowers. Rory then stood next to her mother and April stood next to her father. Both girls had been in on ruse to get their parents back together. It wasn't the candle lit church wedding that Lorelai had dreamed of. It was better than that. She was surrounded by her friends and family. She finally had married Luke. Just like she had wanted.

Later that night, Luke and Lorelai were walking through town. Lorelai looked at her left hand and studied the ring that now resided there. She was so happy that words could not describe it for her.

"How on earth did you manage to do all this?" Lorelai finally asked, leaning into Luke. "Let me get this right. You paid the Drama Society to put on a Masked Ball?"

"That's right I did," Luke said kissing her temple. "I knew that if I planned a town flip out, you'd be sure to attend. I then called Rory at school to do some spying for me. That's how I knew to use the secret admirer thing. April gave me the book that I changed to make your special poem. I went to Emily and Richard to get their blessing and then I took my plan to Miss Patty. Only she, Rory, Richard and Emily and April knew what was really going on."

"How did you get Taylor to agree to all this? What on earth did you have to give him?"

"Our first kid, boy or girl has to be named Taylor," Luke sighed. "And he gets a three month rent free thing with the soda shop."

"That's crazy. Luke, all joking aside, why did you go through all this? Why didn't you just come talk to me? I wanted this too."

"I wanted to show how much I still love you. I wanted to show you that I am willing to do anything to make this, us, work. I love you."

He leaned down to kiss her when he heard a twig snap. They turned to the sound and saw April and Rory standing there.

"Dad, we hate to interrupt but Sookie has this amazing cake waiting to be cut. And to do that, we kind of need the bride and groom," April said. "But take your time."

Luke and Lorelai laughed and joined their daughters. The four of them walked back to the square where the cake was waiting. April wasn't kidding. The cake was a thing of wonder. Five tiered, with a champagne fountain underneath and two heart shaped cakes next to it.

"Rory, April, my parents and Miss Patty were the only ones who knew about this?" Lorelai questioned.

"We had to have a cake. And who makes a cake better than Sookie?"

"You are the best Luke Danes."

The rest of the night Lorelai could not be pulled from Luke. She shared a few hugs with her step-daughter and daughter. But mostly she was attached to Luke at the hip and could never imagine leaving his side ever again.

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**AN: Based on last night's tearful heartbreaking episode I thought we all could use a little bit of fluff in our lives. I literally cried for an hour over what Luke had said. Stupid Christopher!**


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